James rock



J- R K- Shifting-Rail. i No. 68,904. Patented Sept. 1 7.1867.

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TO ALL TO WHOM- IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that 1, JAMES ROCK, of Hastings, England, carriage-builder,have invented or discovered certain Improvements in Carriages and Wagonswith Folding Heads or Coverings and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a true and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the annexed drawing and to the letters, and figuresmarked thereon,that is to say:

My invention consists in applying springs made of steel, India rubber,or other suitable material, either separately orin connection withhinges or joints, to'the heads or coverings of landaus and othercarriages and wagons, made to open and-shut, (whether such carriages orwagons be used for the conveyance of passengers or goods on common roadsor on railroads, for the purpose'of raising or closing such heads orcoverings, or assisting to raise or-closc them, and whcthci'suchraisingor closing he done simplyby hand or with the aid of weights,

levers, screws, or other machinery. I place these springs, made of anyconvenient shape, so that thenioving parts ofthe heads or coveringsdraw, press, or rcstnpou them when lowered, the springs thuscounterbalancing the weight of those parts and giving them a tendency torise when required. l 1

I show one method of applying these springsin Figures 1 and 2 of theannexed drawings, which represent in section the back half of theframework of a carriage called a landan.

Figure 1 shows the half of the landau head thrown open or back. Figure 2shows it closed or rais'eLLand, as seen from the opposite side of thecarriage. a a are springs made of steel, fixed to the elbow-framing ofthe body b b are cranked levers working on pivots or centrescc', alsofixed to the elbow-framing. d d are connecting-rods, which connect thesprings with the shorter arms of the cranked levers, causing the longerarms of those lovers to press against the pillars a e of the head whenthe, head is' thrown open. The cranks of these lovers are so arrangedthat when the head or half-head, as the case-f; Y may be, is thrownquite open the cranks are so near to' the dead-point that the weight ofthe head-framing evercomes the strength of the springs, and the headremains open until it is required to be closed, when a slight upwardpressure or force applied to the frame of the head brings the springsinto action and the head closes; In order to close the two pieces markedff, which, when they meet, form the upper part of the door, as is wellunderstood, I make the hinges at g g, as shown at 71, Figure 3, withasquare hole in the eye hf that half;of--v the hinge which is fixed tofffi Into this hole I insert a pin or prop, (shown in Figure 4,) toserve as the upper prop or centre for the usual outside sustaining jointI, used to support such heads when closed. The partbft he prep 2' whichis received in the eye of the outside joint I is made with anangle-tooth or feather, as showriin fig. 4, and therefore, in order togive more motion to the parts f f than would be given by themotionof the7 joints 9 g and Z, in lowering the head, so as to let them fall flat,the eyes of the outside joint Z should bemade as shown hythe fulllinc'in Figure 5. I do not confine myself to the-use of one angle-toothor feather, nor to the particular form shown in fig. 4, but I make theprop i of any form that will communicate motion from the joint 9 to thepart f, and at the same time, by allowing space in the eye of theoutside joint I, allow the partf the additional motion before described;In order-that a person sitting inside the carriage may most easily raisethe head, I make or fix handles, holders, pulls, or tassels into themiddle hoop-sticks of the head or the hoopsticks next to them. Bypulling these handles, holders, pulls, or tassels, the head may beeasily raised, and when so raised the outside joints may be set orfastened on the inside by means of tho props and framework in the mannerbefore described, or by means of levers attached or fitted to the props,such props being made of sufiicient length and of proper shape toreceive such levers inside. In some cases I use weights, instead of, orin addition to springs, to counterbalance the weight of the moving partsof carriage-heads or coverings, attaching the some to the shorter armsof the cranked levers before described. By connecting two of theselevers by means of a cross-bar passing under the seat of a carriage theweight of the peison or persons sitting on the seat may be used forraising the head.

My invention is adapted alike for carriage-heads covered with flexiblematerial, and for any kind offolding head, whether of solid or jointedwoodwork and panelling or with open framework filled in wholly or inpart with fixed or movable glasses. In applying the springs to ahalf-headed carriage, aphaetou or barouche for instance, the levers orsprings are generally made to press against the front hoop-stick of thehead, which in this case corresponds with the perpendicular e of thelandau head, as shown in fig. 2. l

What I. claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The employment of springs or Weights, substantially as hercinbeforedescribed, to counterbalance the movable parts of folding carriage orwagon-heads or coverings,- in order to raise or close, or to assist inraising a closing, such heads or coverings.

I also claim the combination, as well as the arrangement, of the bentlovers 6 b, the connecting-rods d d, ,nd the springs a a;'also theircombination with the jointed prop-bars l l, the carriage body, and themovable melt or part'e hinged thereto.

I also claim, in combination with the carriage body, its joint-bars l l,movable back e e, and top piece ff, I. means or mechanism, substantiallyas described, or the equivalent thereof, for eficcting the movement ofthe oint-bars, so as to close their joints, by turning the partff downinto a horizontal position, such means being ;he angular teeth orfeather k k of the prop-pin and the elongated eye of the upperjoint-rodZ, the whole being is shown in figs. 4 and 5, and as hereinbeforespecified, the prop-pin g being fixed or applied to the part f f so asto turn or be movable therewith.

JAMES ROCK.

Witnesses:

J. C. MEWBURN, 166 Fleet Street, London,' H. GARDNER, 166 Fleet Street,London.

